Lausanne – Smart City Piano, an analytical tool developed by Swisscom and the business school IMD, has been fine-tuned based on the experiences of smart city projects that have already been conducted.

The Swiss telecommunications provider Swisscom and the business school IMD joined forces two years ago to develop the Smart City Piano, a tool that aims to assist cities become more innovative and smart. Since then, they have conducted a range of projects based on the Piano for cities and regions. 

According to a Swisscom statement, the experiences gained from these projects demonstrate “the need for public authorities to have a more detailed methodology to define, select and implement the most promising projects”. The partners therefore interviewed numerous project managers in public and business entities to produce the study Smart City: Six Steps to Successfully Transform Your City.

The cooperation with the authorities “allowed us to confirm a number of assumptions and to find solutions to identified problems, such as governance issues for instance,” said Raphaël Rollier, head of the Smart City programme at Swisscom.

The study also provides urban leaders with advice on how to practically apply the Smart City Piano. “The proposed method allows resources to be concentrated on initiatives that make a concrete contribution to the objectives set,” said Blaise Vonlanthen, head of consulting at Swisscom.

Prior to collaborating with Swisscom, IMD had assisted companies in planning their digital transformation projects. However, when it comes to transforming the public sector “many rules of the private sector do not apply,” said Michael Wade, a professor of innovation and strategy at IMD. 

With its deeper understanding of the specific dynamics of digital transformation in the public sector, the new study will help cities and regions “accelerate their digital transformation”.